Private schools, colleges cling to Western names

2014-04-05

Republica National Daily

Share this on:

Though the government´s deadline issued to private higher secondary schools and colleges with Western-sounding names to replace those names within three months expired on November 30, the Higher Secondary School Association, Nepal (HISSAN) has refused to comply.

Speaking at a function organized by the Education Journalists Network, HISSAN Chairman Ramesh Silwal said that the decision taken without consulting representatives of the private sector was unacceptable.

“Student unions vandalized several private schools and colleges, but the government did not pay any attention to our losses and instead imposed another decision without consulting us,” said Silwal.

The Department of Education (DoE) and the Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) on August 30 directed schools and colleges with Western names to apply at the relevent government body to replace their names within three month. The directive came following protests by nine student unions affiliated to various political parties, which claimed that such foreign names were against the national interest.

Meanwhile, the student unions have said that they would shortly come up with protests against both government and private sector schools and colleges.

“It is the duty of the government to monitor and penalize such institutions; we will protest against the government´s reluctance to book them,” said Madhav Dhungel, chairman of All Nepal National Free Student Union.

The protest will pressure the government to scrap the licenses of colleges that refuse to change their names, Dhungel added.

HSEB estimates that there are around 250 schools and colleges with Western-sounding names across the country.

The district education offices and the Office of the Company Registrar have already waived the fees for replacing the Westerb names of private schools and colleges with Nepali names.